Robert Owens
Though electronica has always been a producer's medium (and the few vocalists keeping their head above water are usually woman), Robert Owens became one of the figures most associated with the late-'80s golden era of Chicago house. Born in Ohio in 1961, he grew up singing in church, but was working as a DJ when he met pioneering Chicago producer Larry Heard in 1985. The pair formed Fingers Inc. with Ron Wilson, and released a few excellent singles ("You're Mine," "It's Over") and the 1988 full-length Another Side. The group dissolved soon after, though, as Heard's burgeoning solo production career (as Mr. Fingers) took over. Owens had already released tracks on his own -- "Bring Down the Walls" and "I'm Strong" for Alleviated, with production from Heard -- and he signed a solo contract with 4th & Broadway. His 1990 LP Rhythms in Me was a solid effort, though it soon disappeared within the quickly disintegrating Chicago house scene. (One of his best-known features of the late '80s, the epic house moment "Tears," appeared under the names of Frankie Knuckles and producer Satoshi Tomiie.)
Following a move to London in 1993, Owens set up a personal studio and started his own label, Musical Directions, initiating it with the 1994 six-track EP The Statement and concluding it with 1997's "Love Will Find Its Way." He teamed up with Tomiie and Cevin Fisher for a track from Tomiie's Full Lick LP in 1999, and one year later he appeared on the Photek smash "Mine to Give," which topped the Billboard U.S. club chart. While the 2002 double-disc anthology Love Will Find Its Way: The Best of Robert Owens neatly capped 18 years of house classics, Owens continued to collaborate and release the occasional solo 12" throughout the decade. The full-length Night-Time Stories, released on Germany's Compost label in 2008, was a pleasant surprise, with Owens' typically impassioned vocals featured over a stylistically broad range of productions from indebted artists like Kirk Degiorgio, Ian Pooley, Charles Webster, and Wahoo. Two years later, he issued the double-disc album Art. Another Compost release, it featured productions from Larry Heard, Atjazz, and Beanfield.
© John Bush /TiVo
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Don't Wanna Be Alone
Techno - Released by Tropical Animals on 9 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
What You Waiting For
Dance - Released by Raising Records on 30 Apr 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
One Body - Interpretations EP
Dance - Released by Needwant on 15 Aug 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Labels & Tags
Flashmob, Louis (PL), Robert Owens
House - Released by Flashmob Records on 22 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Labels & Tags (Radio Edit)
Flashmob, Louis (PL), Robert Owens
House - Released by Flashmob Records on 22 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Out Of Sync Remixes, Pt. 3
Techno - Released by Snick Snack music on 5 Apr 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Mis Amores
House - Released by King Street Sounds (BEAT Music Fund) on 20 May 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Krypto Kong X Robert Owens
House - Released by ClubMeister Berlin on 22 Dec 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
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The Wave
Axe Syndicate, Robert Owens, Kevin Rudolf
Soul - Released by iD8 on 1 Dec 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thank You (feat. Robert Owens) - Remixes
House - Released by Open Bar Music on 26 Jul 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Inside My World
Dance - Released by Compost Records on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Todd Terry vs. Robert Owens "Show Me"
Electronic - Released by InHouse Records on 30 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo